Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Washington, 2007. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 301-309).

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The objective in this research is to examine the production and performance of theatrical activities aiming at bringing about social change in both development and political intervention. My investigation began with Aarohan Theatre Group, a Kathmandu-based professional company and subsequently extended to Maoist cultural troupes. I have taken a critical perspective considering theatre as a mode of socio-cultural practice embedded in the wider socio-political reality. Thus, I present an account of what it means to do theatre and live by theatre in contemporary Nepal, from 2005 to 2006, through the artists' perspective. Co-performance, that is participation in some performances, complemented participant observation as a methodology. Theatre provides an outstanding context for both social reflection and symbolic action. In a manner similar to ritual, theatrical performances can become deliberate means for both constructing and de-constructing power and symbolically legitimizing or de-legitimizing authority. In Nepal, modern artistic and political theatre developed side by side. First, an historical overview of its development will set the scene for understanding the role played by theatrical performances in the years 2005-2006. In fact, during my fieldwork, history repeated itself. The restrictions on civil rights imposed by the king through the 2005 Emergency affected both street and proscenium theatre activities. Subsequently, ethnographic descriptions will illustrate the theatrical apparatus that the king employed to legitimize his power and how autocracy was similarly resisted and fought against in the streets through theatrical forms of protest and street theatre, loktantrik natak. I will then narrow my focus to a specific form of participatory street performance, kachahari natak, to describe how it was adopted and adapted in Nepal and how the theatre group developed as an organization. In conclusion, 1 will draw comparisons between different forms of 'theatre for social change', kachahari natak, loktantrik natak and Maoist cultural programmes.

In recent decades, individuals as well as businesses – mainly those living and operating within advanced capitalist systems – have become increasingly aware of the social context of production and, thus, of the impact consumption has on the environment, animals and other fellow humans. Such reflexivity is echoed both in spheres of production (e.g. corporate social responsibility policies) and consumption (e.g. labelling schemes such as fair-trade and organic). Under these conditions the ‘ethical consumer’ was born. While, however, the concepts of ethical and political consumption have been around for some time now, our understanding of what it really means to be ‘ethical’ as a consumer today is still very fuzzy. In contrast with previous studies which ascribe a priori certain meanings and criteria to the ethical consumer concept, this study follows a bottom-up approach that provides space for individuals to express their own views on ethical consumption. To cater for a deeper understanding of the phenomenon under investigation, the research is designed as a case study within a specific geographical location; Partick, Glasgow. This study makes use of primary data generated through 20 in-depth interviews with self-identified ethical consumers, 10 interviews and 15 questionnaires with managers of grocery shops operating in the area, as well as 112 questionnaires completed by the public in a street survey. The findings challenge our conventional understanding of ‘ethics’ in the context of consumption; being ethical as a consumer extends beyond simply purchasing ethically marketed products and services, to include various lifestyle choices. Consumers raised concerns about the degree and nature of change that conventional ethical consumption can achieve. Utilising insights from this research, the study draws a conceptual distinction between the “ethical Shopper” (representing the side of ethical consumption that is hegemonically market-driven) and the “ethical Consumer” (representing its creative, pro-active, agency-driven counterpart). It is suggested that the latter allows consumption as a tool for social change to reach its full potential, since it escapes the fabricated ‘ethics’ of the market. Feeding back to the theoretical frameworks of ethical and political consumption, this study highlights the class and taste bias built into the (very expensive) idealized model of ethical lifestyle and, thus, calls for the inclusion of different types of consumer action such as downshifting, file-sharing, or even collective shoplifting, which have been –until now – neglected.

This study focuses on the lives of people living in a social housing estate which was a joint venture between the Housing Association of South Africa (HASA), a Netherlands based foundation and the Buffalo City Municipality. This type of social housing estate is a relatively new concept in post-apartheid South Africa and a first for the City of East London. Apartheid spawned the separation of different groups of people into racial enclaves. It also created barriers between races, advantaged certain races over others and created fear, hatred and general distrust among different racial groups in South Africa. The dislocation of apartheid was accompanied by rapid urbanization and ‘reconstruction’ of infrastructure and inter-racial relationships. The opening up of the country’s borders in compliance with Globalisation made South Africa a melting pot to people of different cultures. South African cities became fragmented and fear and strangeness was everywhere. Housing or the lack of it has been a constant problem that the new post apartheid government has grappled with. The solution of building RDP housing estates has not solved this burgeoning problem. But even more importantly it has failed to reorganize urban life in South Africa. In approaching this study I look at how these new social housing estates have reorganized urban life. I explore the concepts of community, home, generation, gender, material culture and ‘new’ urbanization to provide a framework for my study. This study is a qualitative study based in the city of East London in the Eastern Cape. It is a community study which attempts to go inside the home to unlock some of the intricacies of urban life. Ethnography is the research key used to unlock these intricacies.In conclusion, this study attempts to examine a non-western narrative of community life. Are these housing estates a solution to South Africa’s housing problem? Do they conform only to western narratives of urban life? What kind of citizens do these housing estates produce? These are some of the questions that this study hopes to answer.

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This paper examines the changes that take place in want patterns when unaccustomed purchasing power is made available to peasant agriculturalists as a result of a recent Government-sponsored development project in the Mexican Gulf Lowlands. It is hypothesized that increased cash income stimulates changes in peasant expenditure patterns and that corresponding changes in wants can be identified. In order to measure the changes that have taken place in expenditure and make inferences about wants, a detailed study has been undertaken of patterns of income and expenditure in a sample group selected within the Plan compared with a control group of peasants outside of the immediate project area. The comparison between the sample groups supports the hypothesis. However, no simple link was found between increased purchasing power and consumption. The initial period of new want development consequent on income increase was characterized by extensive experimental spending on a wide variety of superficial wants, which are unlikely to be incorporated as deep-seated components of the consumption pattern since they are based on short-term impulses prompted by curiosity and prestige motives. Consequently, increased expenditure on want satisfaction had achieved relatively little impact on the standard of living. It was concluded that the main significance of increased income in this context is that it acts as a catalyst to change in wants and brings the consumer to the point where satisfaction of potential wants is possible. Potential wants are not adopted simply because the opportunity is available and the items can be afforded, but only if they are the response to a felt need and have a good fit with the existing cultural matrix. Thus, change in want patterns is a function of change in perception rather than a response to increased income. The value system, then, plays the key role in want development and it appears that change in the value system itself in terms of attitudes, motivations and aspirations, is prerequisite for the development of new wants and the modification of old wants, which in turn stimulates further reformulation of the cultural frame-of-reference. / Arts, Faculty of / Geography, Department of / Graduate

Within the third sector, scarce resources make it difficult for social enterprises to survive financially, become more innovative and entrepreneurial, and generally grow and develop to scale. Although there is no agreement on the definition, the extant literature tends to frame social enterprise as critical for addressing challenging social problems. Social enterprise involves some degree of profit-making, while maintaining a strong focus on social mission. The latest literature points to social enterprise as an example of a hybrid organisational form that has the potential to act as a solution to complex social problems. However, the literature also highlights the considerable tensions inherent in hybridity, as well as the substantive mission-drift that inevitably occurs. The current body of knowledge does not describe how social enterprise growth and development occurs, nor does it adequately illustrate how social enterprise hybrids can continue to meet their important social missions while generating sufficient operating income to sustain themselves. Additionally, there is a dominant view that non-profit social enterprises may face difficulties in surviving as hybrids due to the risk of mission-drift. An in-depth study of non-profit social enterprises that had already reached scale was undertaken to address this. By doing so, a contribution was made to the development of the social entrepreneurship and social enterprise fields. The theory on social enterprise ideal-types was deepened. In addition, this study provides a framework for social enterprise growth and development within this organising context. Strategy-as-practice (SaP) core concepts as influencers within an entrepreneurship-as-practice (EaP) theoretical framework, contained by a social practice theory theoretical lens. The result was a focus on daily business management and strategic development practices. Additionally, contextualisation – as the link between the micro-context in each organisation and macro environment – was studied as the context for this growth and development. / Thesis (DPhil)--University of Pretoria, 2020. / Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS) / DPhil / Unrestricted

Purpose: In many cross-cultural management studies, culture and cultural differences across nations typically are assumed to be constant. The focus is on the impact of culture on other variables, such as the performance of multinational enterprises. However, is it possible that economic globalization results in cultural globalization? If yes, by how much? The purpose of this paper is to provide some evidence through studying the impact of foreign direct investment (FDI) on the Chinese culture. Design/methodology/approach: An observable social indicator to represent each dimension of cultural value is chosen and statistical models are used to test whether FDI has significant impact on these indicators, after controlling for economic development level. Also this paper investigates whether FDI from a different cultural background has different effects on the Chinese culture. Findings: Using data from major Chinese cities, it is found that FDI has significant effects on the degree of future orientation, performance orientation and in-group collectivism. Also this paper found that FDI from the USA and the UK has a significant and negative effect on the degree of assertiveness; FDI from Japan, and Singapore, and the USA, and the UK has significantly negative effects on the degree of performance orientation; FDI from Japan and Singapore has a significantly positive effect on the degree of in-group collectivism. Originality/value: Unlike the traditional method of measuring culture values through what people say (interview or survey), this approach relies on what people do. This method helps avoid the measurement distortions caused by self-deception and impression management problems with survey approach. In addition, this is believed to be the first study to test the impact of FDI on the change of culture values through econometric models.

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